Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 309 Departure
Something extremely urgent you want to tell me...? Looking at Anthony, who was panting in front of him, Luo Xiu felt a sense of urgency that he had not expected.

That was a sense of urgency that could not be felt only from the [Player Forum] and the chat channel - there was no difference between Anthony's condition when he came back and when he left. He just turned back halfway on the pretext of delivering a deed to the "Bishop", and the players did not notice anything wrong.

But now Anthony was visibly trembling slightly, as if he had really discovered some secret and horrible truth.

"What happened?" Luo Xiu said to him in a calm tone, "Don't be anxious, you can tell me slowly."

"Okay, okay..." Anthony took a long breath and said solemnly word by word:

"I did successfully complete the mission to carry out the Holy Judgment in Onsica Town, but I found this on the body of their leader, a 'Flesh Eater'—"

As he spoke, Anthony reached into his bosom and pulled out a secret note stained with blood.

The bloodstains on it had already oxidized and turned black. Luo Xiu reached out to take it, opened its envelope, and took out a trifold piece of letter paper wrapped in soft oilcloth.

The bloodstains on the outside of the secret note did not penetrate inside due to the protection of the soft oilcloth, which made the handwriting on the letter paper still clearly visible. There were brief orders written in the concise, old language of the Nolan Empire.

[In the name of the Black Emperor, I give you a new mission, Flesh and Blood Devourer Vazik——]

[Let the town of Ongsika be destroyed in flames and blood, and use their corpses to create more "blood followers" and "destroyers", and secretly transport them to the imperial capital - the more the better, the more the better...]

[With this secret note as proof, Holdwell, the 'Knight of the Throne' of the Songyuan City Round Table, can pave the way for you. If necessary, the 'Black Emperor' allows you to use him and betray him at the critical moment.]

[If I learn that Holdwell is dead, I will tell you the new contact.]

【…】

After that, there was no other content in the secret note.

"The Black Emperor... 'Knight of the Throne' Holdwell..."

Luo Xiu frowned slightly and asked Anthony, "You have read the letter, right?"

"Because it involves the Supreme Being, is that why you are panicking?"

After Luo Xiu finished speaking, Anthony nodded solemnly:

"When I rushed into the deepest part of the Blood and Flesh Festival's base, I ran into him preparing to burn the letter. He seemed a little panicked when he saw me, but I stopped him from burning the secret letter and cut off his arm that was holding the letter."

"I think... at least the letter shows this information - there is a traitor inside the Supreme, and he has infiltrated to a very deep extent."

After a pause, Anthony said, "I came back early just to tell you this. I hope you can be more careful in Songyuan City."

"And I haven't let the second priest know about this matter yet... If you are going to Songyuan City, you can find out about the situation of the 'Knight of the Throne' Holdwell and take precautions in advance."

"I understand." Luo Xiu nodded slightly, patted Anthony's shoulder, and said, "While I'm away, you should stay in the church and don't walk around, let alone go to the 'Border Court' - Albert may not cause trouble for you, but I'm not sure whether the 'Black Emperor' has spies in the Border Court."

"Until I come back, 'Holy Deacon' Hubert will remain in the church and he will keep you safe, Anthony."

"As for this secret note, give it to me first."

"...Okay." Anthony nodded heavily again, "I understand. I will do as you say."

……

Anthony then left the Holy See.

Luo Xiu was still sitting in the armchair. He took out the secret letter intercepted by Anthony and looked at it repeatedly.

Like Anthony, Luo Xiu also sensed considerable danger.

Anthony was so lucky to receive this letter... No wonder "Zhu Ri Xu Moment" gave him instructions to solve the disaster of "Wongsika Town". It turned out that there was such a thing hidden...

Anthony, the Inquisitor and the Guardian players did not encounter any pursuit on their way back, which means that the other party did not react immediately, or thought that the 'Flesh and Blood Festival' had destroyed the secret letter?

If the "Blood of Thorns" really involved a traitor to the Supreme, Anthony's choice not to tell the other priests, but to come back and report to him first, was indeed the wisest choice.

Luo Xiu's thoughts diverged, as for the fact that there was a traitor in the [Supreme]... Luo Xiu, who had the memories of his previous life, actually did know about this.

Just as [Glory] produced the "Pure Order" and [Intelligence] produced the "Hidden Omniscient", [Supreme] also had serious divisions within it, and they called themselves "Order Killers".

As far as we know, the greatest "Order Killer" is the "Dark Duke" of the Dark Principality - his destiny is to be the Supreme.

However, unlike the path of advancement through domination and supremacy, the path of advancement for the "order-killers" comes from destroying the order created by others and usurping the authority in their hands. It is a destiny trend of destruction and transcendence.

According to Luo Xiu's guess, the "Black Emperor" in the secret note should refer to the Dark Duke.

But the influence of the "Order Killers" in the previous life was not great - at least the rule of the Empire's Emperor Augustwell had not been overthrown, and the "Order Killers" who were discovered were only at the fifth level of destiny.

But this secret note mentioned the "Imperial Capital" - so according to the current situation, the "Order Killers" with at least "six destinies" are still hiding in the orderly team, but they were not exposed in the previous life.

Luo Xiu's mind was racing with thoughts. At the same time, he looked at the secret note tightly clenched in his hand and began to think about the necessity of finding out and eliminating potential "order killers".

- At least the "Knight of the Throne" Holdwell and his superiors should be eliminated without attracting anyone's attention. This is to protect Anthony's safety and to avoid possible crises for himself.

From Emperor Augustwell's perspective, he absolutely could not tolerate such a bug hiding beside him.

Coincidentally, the same thing happened to Luo Xiu.

……

In the afternoon.

The time came to around two o'clock in the afternoon, which was the time Luo Xiu planned to set off.

Almost all the clergy in the church above the rank of "deacon" temporarily put down their work and went to the door of the church to pay homage to their "bishop".

At this time, Luo Xiu was riding the "Golden Pegasus" Pegasus - its flaming mane had been covered by spirituality, and now it looked like a strong and agile ordinary war horse, with its four hooves raised, neck bent, and panting.

Luo Xiu, who was on horseback, looked back with a smile at the clergy who came to see him off.

"The Holy Light will guide your path forward, Luo Xiu."

Hubert held his chest with his left hand and said to Luo Xiu:

"When you arrive in Songyuan City, remember to tell the Archbishop about Baberon and the 'Black Crystal Factory'. The Archbishop will send someone to assist you. Remember one thing, you will never be alone in Songyuan City."

"Yes, I understand, Master Hubert." Luo Xiu nodded and thanked Hubert sincerely, "Thank you for your care and help all the time. Thank you very much."

"May the Holy Light protect you, Bishop." Anthony, Fran and other "priests" also gave Luo Xiu their blessings before departure, and Luo Xiu responded to them one by one. Afterwards, under the devout gaze of all the clergy, the "Golden Pegasus" galloped towards the east gate, and it and Luo Xiu's backs soon disappeared at the corner at the end of the street.

……

About ten minutes later, Luo Xiu arrived at the gate on the east side of the Red Maple City wall.

According to the agreement with the "Thunder General" Albert from the border court that he had asked Olga to convey, Luo Xiu stopped his horse at the east city gate and waited for Albert to come and see him.

When Luo Xiu asked Olga to convey his words to Albert, he and Albert agreed on a meeting time of 2:30 in the afternoon.

But when another twenty minutes passed and the agreed time finally arrived, Albert was nowhere to be seen. On the street where Luo Xiu was, apart from the civilians passing by, there were only guards standing guard and checking people passing by.

Out of courtesy, Luo Xiu decided to wait for Albert until three o'clock. If Albert did not show up before three o'clock, Luo Xiu would not wait any longer and would directly embark on the journey to Songyuan City.

……

Another twenty minutes passed until around 2:50 in the afternoon.

Luo Xiu, who was meditating with his eyes closed on horseback, suddenly opened his eyes.

His spiritual perception has detected that several strong and surging spiritual surges have emerged not far away.

It was a surge of the most intense spirituality wrapped in several spiritualities.

And that spiritual group at the core was filled with an extremely strong and overbearing aura. Even without using the panel to spy on it, Luo Xiu could quickly recognize that it was the spiritual surge of "Thunder General" Albert!
Luo Xiu looked up.

Just at the end of his field of vision, there appeared a dozen armored men and horses.

They walked slowly towards the city wall, and in Luo Xiu's vision, their images gradually became clearer.

Luo Xiu recognized several old acquaintances - "Grand Inquisitor" Baines, "Throne Knight" Frosa, and on both sides of them there were about four "Quadruple Destiny" [Supreme] transcendents, whom Luo Xiu had never seen before.

That might be Albert Perez, the follower he brought from Songyuan City.

In the middle of the dozen or so armors in front of him, a single tall figure stood out.

It was none other than "General Thunder," Albert Perez himself!
He looked to be in middle age, and exuded an aura of majesty without even getting angry; his face was resolute, with clear lines, and his eyes were as hot as fire in a cave, flashing with unquestionable arrogance and majesty.

And between his brows, which were as slender as arrow feathers, there was a scar running across them, through which one seemed to glimpse countless battlefields filled with blood and fire.

This was the first impression that Luo Xiu involuntarily had when he saw Albert's face.

As Albert continued to approach on his armored horse, Luo Xiu saw more details of his image.

He was dressed in a solemn and gorgeous black and red battle robe, with golden decorations inlaid on the edges with exquisite craftsmanship, shining brightly in the sun; the wide cloak behind him was fluttering in the wind, like the most dazzling flag on the battlefield, demonstrating his identity and power.

At this time, Albert was holding the reins in one hand and the hilt of the giant sword hanging at his waist with the other. The hollow part of the scabbard was emitting a deep red light like blood, and a very dangerous and hot breath emanated from it, as if it was burning as soon as it was unsheathed.

He held the reins tightly, and galloped towards Luo Xiu at a steady speed along with other Supremes. Soon, they stopped in front of Luo Xiu.

"Are you the new bishop of the church, Ross Carlos?"

Albert glanced at Luo Xiu with a dignified gaze, and then said lightly: "Too young. You make me feel like a sheep - but it's okay this way."

When Albert gave his first "greeting" to Luo Xiu, Luo Xiu looked at Baines behind him, and then at Frosa. Their faces were expressionless, but their eyes revealed obvious awe of Albert.

At this time, Luo Xiu was wearing a relatively simple uniform. The guards on duty around him realized that the young clergyman who had been staying under the city wall was actually the "bishop" of the church, Luo Xiu Carlos!

They did not dare to delay and trotted over to salute Albert and Luo Xiu respectively, then dispersed to the street entrance to guard the martial law and temporarily block this section of the road.

"You are late, Sir Albert."

Luo Xiu then responded to Albert with a smile and said, "Our agreed time is 2:30 pm, and you are 20 minutes late."

"But it doesn't matter, Lord Albert. I'm still very happy to meet you. You are more heroic and majestic than I thought. It's a pity that I don't have more time to talk with you, but I still look forward to working with you in the future."

"..."

"…It seems I should change my assessment of you, the 'sheep', Bishop of the Church."

Albert said, "You are a venomous snake. You will only show your fangs at certain moments."

"That's a very interesting comment." Luo Xiu's smile did not fade. "It's my honor to hear such comments from a Supreme Divine Seal Knight."

"Thank you for coming to see me off at the agreed time, Sir Albert."

Luo Xiu pulled the reins tight, Pegasus turned the horse's head and started pedaling "da, da".

"But I have to leave now. I'll trouble you to take care of Hongfeng City and the church. When I return from Songyuan City, I will go to the border to visit you with the clergy of the church."

"Hmph." Albert snorted, raised his hand and waved the whip in his hand.

"Go, Bishop of the Church. We shall meet again soon."

After saying this, Albert whipped his whip and the horse under him turned around and returned to the border.

Baines and Frosa followed him back one after another. Luo Xiu seemed to see faint beads of sweat on their foreheads.

In their opinion, the "Thunder General" was indeed a very powerful and dangerous person... They were also worried that Albert would directly turn against Luo Xiu, but fortunately things did not develop to that point.

While thinking about this, Luo Xiu watched Albert, Baines, Frosa and their backs disappear at the end of his sight, then he turned around and looked at the open post road and overlapping hills in the distance.

The "Golden Pegasus" he was riding finally started galloping on the post road like a gale.

He finally officially set off.

……

Until the early morning of the next day.

In Luo Xiu's field of vision, the outline of the dark gray city wall finally emerged.

He had arrived at the city limits of Songyuan as scheduled.

……

(End of this chapter)